Dame Alice Owen's School

We warmly welcome applications from external candidates to join our Sixth Form. The choice of where to study is an important decision and we hope the information provided here will be helpful in this process. We believe further that success in exams is of prime importance, but we seek to develop our students both personally and socially as well.

Changing schools is a big step for any student to take and we do not underestimate how daunting this can be. We have a range of ways to ensure that new students settle in well, starting with our summer induction days after GCSE exams and extending right into Year 13. We believe that by choosing to take the important step of moving school, you are not only opting to take a degree of responsibility for your own learning but also ‘bridging the gap’ between school and university.

The main attraction of our Sixth Form may well be the school’s excellent record of success in public examinations – see our webpages: Results and Higher Education (includes university destinations). There are, however, many other factors which will contribute to making our Sixth Form an enjoyable and rewarding environment in which to study. You will find that you are taught with other students who, like you, are enthusiastic about your chosen subjects. We value your ideas, and discussion, independent research, group work and presentations, which are all likely to form part of your courses, as well as the expertise provided by our highly qualified staff. Of course, you will have to work hard, and probably, for the first time in your education, you will find yourself with private study periods in school. Our facilities for study include a well-stocked school library, Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) and an extensive computer network.

We offer excellent opportunities both academically and socially and provide a friendly and purposeful environment in which to study. We are extremely proud of the fact that of the large number of students who join our Sixth Form from other schools each year the vast majority settle so quickly we soon find it impossible to distinguish them from our home-grown talent. We feel strongly that this is because of the excellent pastoral care provided by our Sixth Form team.